When the Vancouver Canucks acquired goalie Casey DeSmith from the Montreal Canadiens, they addressed a need greater than most realized. By doing so, they optimized a bad contract and underperforming player in Tanner Pearson and turned him into a real asset.
The Canucks really haven’t had good backup goalie play for most of the last decade; this dates back to the 2015-16 season where Vancouver had a tandem of Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom. Even when Thatcher Demko backed up Markstrom in his first full season back in 2019-20, the results weren’t great. So far in the 2023-24 season, it looks like the Canucks have bucked that trend with DeSmith.
The longtime Pittsburgh Penguins understudy played a career-high 38 regular season games last season and compiled a record of 15-16-4. DeSmith came away with a career-low 0.905 save percentage, but based on what we’ve seen from the Pens this year, that seems more and more like an indictment on their defensive play and structure rather than their performances between the pipes. GM Patrik Allvin and co. bought low on DeSmith at the right time.
The 32-year-old was rock-solid in his first two starts against the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers, respectively, and was unlucky to not have come away with a better stat line in that appalling overtime loss to the New York Rangers. The 0.833 save percentage he recorded in that game brings him down to 0.905 on the year, but if the refs make that tripping call, the skies are looking a lot sunnier in Vancouver.
Small sample size aside, it looks as though the Canucks no longer have to concern themselves with overworking Demko due to incompetence behind him in the pecking order. The defensive structure has generally been good notwithstanding the lack of talent beyond the first defense pairing, and we remember how well they played back in the 2010-11 season when Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider won the William M. Jennings Trophy, right?
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The Canucks now have the makings of a (mostly) completely different team than years past, and it’s easy to see why. Consistency is king in today’s NHL.